Let me start by saying Jim at 1st Line is a top-notch guy. I've read great reviews from other customers about buying from him which had made it easier for me to purchase from him as well, and with good reason.

I was at his shop last Tuesday, and we spent well over 5 hours working on the machine, all at no charge. Fantastic customer service.

Was able to reproduce the issue there and Jim thought he found what may have been the problem, a leaky group. He replaced all the seals in the group, top and bottom, and gave it a good cleaning and lube, so the group is, in essence, brand new. No leaks to be found. Unfortunately, that didn't solve the problem. :(

Still having the issue with temp stopping when first turning on the machine after it sits for an extended period. It starts to rise and then slows and eventually stops, each time a different temps. Once it's 140 F, another time it makes it to 190 F, and a third time, it will climb to 167 F. Odd.

Again, I get the temp to climb by either running water through the group, running water the hot water wand (I think this rules out the group as the issue), or gently wrapping the side of the machine.

Either way, I'm lost as to what the problem could be. Like I stated in the original post, all I did was pull the mushroom to check for scale and gave it a cleaning. Since then, this issue has been present. I'm still working with Jim via email to try and resolve this, but he's just as puzzled as I am. I'll keep you updated with any info, but as of now, still having this frustrating issue. :(

Looks like problem solved. I keep my fingers crossed. There is an injector pipe for the cold water entering the boiler. There was a pinhole leak there, but this problem usually results in a hotter grouphead. After this part was replaced, we still experienced the same issue. We checked the 2 thermosypon tubes. Both were clear, but the upper tube had a flow restrictor which was partially limed up. We ran a strong descaler about a 7-10 days ago, but it is now apparent that when this problem occurs, the restrictor needs to be descaled separately. We performed a cold start up yesterday and today, and the machine hits 207 and 205 without any interruption.

I had often wondered whether this machine had a restrictor in the thermosyphon loop (or whether one could be added if not). When you get the time, could you show a diagram or photo of the restrictor's location?

Was this scale build-up from use or did it come from the factory with some scale built-up? Are they using hard water to test the machines at the factory?

I had often wondered whether this machine had a restrictor in the thermosyphon loop (or whether one could be added if not). When you get the time, could you show a diagram or photo of the restrictor's location?

Was this scale build-up from use or did it come from the factory with some scale built-up? Are they using hard water to test the machines at the factory?

the machine leans toward being a dragon which is what got me to wondering about the restrictor. but at my current pressure setting the Machine idles at 205 with the portafilter installed and 210 with it out. I find it to be manageable atthese numbers.

I had often wondered whether this machine had a restrictor in the thermosyphon loop (or whether one could be added if not). When you get the time, could you show a diagram or photo of the restrictor's location?

Was this scale build-up from use or did it come from the factory with some scale built-up? Are they using hard water to test the machines at the factory?

I have not experienced any limescale on the Cuadras NIB. This machine definitely had scale from water usage as I saw it in the mushroom I removed on the first visit and manually descaled it (gicleur had a smaller opening), and then I saw it on the second visit again. So, the scale build up was from usage.

I think the last 2-3 batches had the restrictor. It is found in the upper thermosyphon tube right inside the elbow at the boiler side.

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